AFCON 2023 Group E Preview: Tunisia, Mali, South Africa go neck and neck for top spot in ‘Group of death’
(Made In Africa Sport) – While the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023) draw yielded fairly balanced groups, Group E is as close as you would get to a ‘group of death.’ Though constituent teams have only two AFCON titles between them, you will scarcely find more consistent teams in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title history than Tunisia and Mali.
Tunisia made their first podium finish in 1962, coming in third after defeating Uganda 3–0, and made it to the finals three years later, losing to Ghana on home soil. The Eagles of Carthage came close again in 1996, finishing with a silver medal while losing to hosts South Africa. South Africa proved a thorn in the Tunisian side again in 2000, beating them to a third-place finish on penalties.
The Eagles finally had their recompense, hosting and winning the AFCON trophy in 2004 at the expense of fellow North Africans Morocco. They missed a podium finish in 2019 when Nigeria nudged them out in a 1–0 victory.
For all their consistency, the Malian national team has only come close to winning the AFCON trophy once, when they finished as runners-up against DR Congo in 1972. They lost the third-place matches consecutively in 2002 and 2004 to the Super Eagles of Nigeria but recorded third-place finishes in 2012 and 2013.
South Africa finished fourth in the first Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 1957 without participation, and the apartheid regime kept the Bafana Bafana out of the competition for over 30 years, they lifted the trophy in 1996 when the country hosted it. They were runners-up in the 1998 edition, and their last semifinal was in 2000, where they thumped the Eagles of Carthage to finish third.
The Brave Warriors of Namibia will be making their fourth appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024, although they have never made it past the group stages. Even now, they are sidelined in terms of predictions for the last 16 stages, given the quality of their group members.
Final Squads – Group E
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Tunisia will be without their star forward Wahab Khazri, who recently retired from international football. Yossef Msakni from Qatar could be on track for his 100th appearance in the country in Cote d’Ivoire. We could also see action from Yan Valery and Ellyes Shkiri. However, Manchester United’s Hannibal Mejri would be missing in action as he sorts through ‘an important situation’ at the club.
Mali will be bringing a thorough mix of talent and experience, and Amadou Haidara from Leipzig, Moussa Doumbia from Al Adala, and Yves Bissouma from Tottenham Hotspurs made the team sheet for the AFCON 2023. Sirine Doucoure and Boubacar Traore are uncapped players who have made it to the 27-man squad.
South Africa have fielded a lot of home-based talent, as 2023 CAF Interclub Player of the Year, Percy Tau from Al Ahly is one of the few foreign-based players to make Hugo Broo’s list while Burnley’s Lyle Foster is recovering from psychological issues and Lebo Mothiba from Strasbourg recently underwent knee surgery, rendering them unavailable for selection.
Tunisia will play the first Group E game against Namibia on Tuesday, 16 January 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly stadium in Korogho, Cote d’Ivoire. South Africa takes on Mali hours later at the same stadium.
